Still mechanism for motion picture projectors



July 11, 1939. -w M N 2,165,431

STILL MECHANISM FOR MOTION PICTURE PROJECTORS Filed Oct. 28, 1957 63 as A 27 F/@ F/G, 2 a5 2.9 a3 /4 Howard CWe/hof) I N VEN TOR BY I "a 2/? QTTORNEYS still picture mechanism constructed in accord-,

Patented July 11, 1939 UNITED STATES STILL BJECHANISM FOR MOTION PICTURE PROJECTORS Howard C. Wellman, Rochester, N. Y., assignor to Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N. Y., a

corporation of New Jersey Application October 28, 1937', Serial No. 171,513v

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to projectors, and more particularly to a mechanism for disconnecting the drive shaft of the projector from the motor drive to permit the projection of stills.

One object of the invention is the provision of a mechanism by which the drive shaft of the projector may be selectively disengaged from the drive motor to permit the projection of stills.-

Another object of the invention is the provision of a mechanism which permits the projection of stills without necessitating the shutting down of the drive motor.

'A further object of the invention is the provision of a mechanism of the class described which affords a positive-drive connectionbetween the drive motor and the drive shaft of the pro jector, yet which readily permits the disconnecting of the drive shaftfrom the motor. 1

A still further .object of the invention is the provision of a still mechanism which is simple in construction, relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and higheffective 'in use. i

To these and other ends, the invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts-all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel featuresbeing pointed out in the claims at the end of the In the drawing: V r

Fig. 1 is a side view of a projector, showing the relation thereto of a Fstill picture mechanism specification.

. constructed in accordance with-the present invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged verticalsectional view through 'a portion of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1, showingthe relation of the parts of the ance with the preferred embodiment of the in-. vention; V l

Fig. 3 is a side elevation view of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 2, with the parts in a different position to disconnect the drive shaft from the drive belt; and

'Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the lines 4''4 of Fig. 2, showing the arrangement of theshi'ft mechanism. v

Similar reference numerals throughout the various views indicate the same parts.

' The present invention relates toa mechanism for useon motion picture projectors whereby, the movement of the film strip can be stopped-to permit the projection ofv stills. After the desired stills have been viewed, the drive shaft may be again connected to the driving means to move'the. film strip throughthe projecton.

Referring now to the drawing, and more particularly to Fig. 1, there is shown a projector, generally indicated by the numeral H, formed with a base l2 on which is piovted at l 3 an upper housing or support M to which the various film movingmembers are mounted, as is well known to those in the art. An electric motor l5, suitably mounted on the housing I4, is connected by a V- shaped belt It to the projector drive shaft [1, in a manner to be later described. The shaft l1 carries a shutter, not shown, and is connected by the spur gears I8 to another shaft l9 on which is mounted a worm gear 20 whichmeshes with a pair of gears 23 on the upper and lower sprocket shafts 24 'and 25 respectively. Theshafts 24 and invention, a further description is not deemed P necessary for those familiar with the art.

As is well known, .a supply reel 33 is mounted on the spindle 29, and a leader strip, not shown, is then threaded through the machine and secured to the takeup reel 34 carried by the spindle 39. In order to insure the proper engagement of the pulldown claw, not shown, with the film perforations, the drive shaft 11 may be manually rotated by means of a threading knob .35 secured to the shaft IT by meansof a pin 36, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. After the machine has been properly threaded, it may be operated bymeans of the motor I5 which is connected by the belt I6 to a split pulley, generally indicated by the numeral 31', mounted on and rotatable with the drivev shaft Il,-as hereinafter more fully described.

1 Duringthe projection of a motion picture, it is often desirable to disengage. the film feeding mechanismfrom the driving motor or belt so that the movement of the film strip may be arrested to permit the projection of stills. To secure this 4| having peripheral flanges 42 and 43 respectively, the inner faces of which are beveled, as

shown at 44, to provide a recess or groove 45 adapted to receive they-shaped belt IS. The

member 4|] is formed with an axially or laterally extending sleeve which is rigidly secured to the shaft I1 by means of a pin 41. The threading knob 35 is formed with an inwardly projecting tubular member on which an axially extending sleeve 5| of the member 4| is slidably mounted, see Fig. 2. The outer end of the sleeve 5| is formed with a plurality of pronglike members 52 which extend through registering opening 53 in a collar 54 on the member 50 so that the sleeve 5|, and hence the member 4|, will be rotated upon rotation of the shaft H. The members 52, and the opening 53 thus provide, in effect, a spline connection between the tubular member 59 and the sleeve 5| whereby the latter may slide axially on the member 56, but is rotated upon the rotation of the member 5|). As the member 50 is secured to the shaft I! by reason of the pin 36, the movable pulley member 4| may be broadly considered as splined to the shaft I! so as to move axially thereon but rotatable as a unit therewith.

The pulley member 4| is moved to belt engaging position, or to the right, as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3, by means of a coil spring 5'! the convolutions of which are wrapped around the sleeve 5! and constrained between the collar 54 and a collar 58 formed on the sleeve 5i. This spring 57 thus tends to move the member 4| to the right, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, so as to bring the beveled faces 44 of the members 40 and 4! into engagement with the corresponding beveled sides 59 of the belt it, as shown in Fig. 2, so that the belt may rotate the pulley 31 and hence the drive shaft H.

In order to project stills, it is obviously necessary to disconnect the drive shaft I! from the motor l5 and the drive belt It. To this end, the present invention provides an arrangement for separating the members 40 and 4| so that the faces 44 thereof will be moved out of engagement with the sides or driving surfaces 59 of the belt it. This is accomplished by providing a shifting mechanism, to be presently described, which en gages the movable member 4| to move the latter to the left, or tothe position shown in Fig. 3. When in this position, the faces 44 have been moved out of contact with the belt l6 so'the'latter will not rotate the split pulley 37, as is apparent from an inspection of Fig. 3. When the members to and 4| are thus separated, the belt .IE drops onto a center piece 62 loosely mounted on the shaft I1, and revolves only this center piece, the pulley 37 and the shaft I then rea maining stationary to permit the projection of stills. A suitable bushing 53 may be pressed into the central opening 54 of the center piece 62 to provide a bearing for the latter on the shaft II.

'The shifting mechanism comprises, in the preferred embodiment, a leaf spring 61 one end of which is secured by means of screws 68, or other suitable fastening means, to 2. lug 59 mounted on the machine housing E4, as clearly shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The free end of the spring 57 is formed with curved bifurcations or arms Hi, the

tips or ends of which are bent, as shown at H, to extend diametrically into a groove 72 formed between the member 4| and the collar 58, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3. It is thus apparent that if the leaf spring 5'! is moved or flexed to the left, as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3, the bent ends H of the arms 79 will engage the collar 5 to move the member ll to the left to disengage the belt Hi from the pulley 31, as above described. It is also apparent that the leaf spring 61 tends to move the member 4| to the right, as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3, and thus cooperates with the coil spring 51 in returning and holding the movable member 4| in belt engaging position, as shown in Fig. 2.

The leaf spring 51 is also formed with a laterally extending L-shaped arm adapted to engage a cam 16, of the shape best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, which is secured, adjacent one end thereof, to the bearing bracket 71 by means of a screw 18, or other suitable fastening means. Thus, when the cam 61 is moved from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 3, the leaf spring 51 is flexed, and the member 4| is slid axially along the tubular member 50 to permit the belt Hi to drop onto the loose center piece 62, thus disconnecting the shaft H from the drive belt l6. Conversely, when the cam 16 is returned to the position shown in Fig. 2, the leaf spring 67 straightens out, and cooperates with the coil spring 51 to move the member 4| to the right, as viewed in Fig. 2, to again operatively connect the belt IE to the shaft I! to rotate the latter. The springs 51 and 61 also yieldably hold the member 4| in belt engaging position, as is apparent from an inspection of the drawing.

The cam 51 is controlled by a bent lever or arm 80 which is pivoted at 8| to the cam, and extends upwardly through an opening 52 in the housing M, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The

free end of the arm 89 is provided with a fingergripping portion 83. The parts are normally in a position shown in Fig. 2, in which the belt i6 is operatively connected to the shaft It to rotate the latter so as to remove the film strip through the machine, as is well known to those in the .When, however, the arm 86 is lifted upart. wardly to the position shown in Fig. 3, the cam '55 is rotated to flex the spring BI and to move the member 4| to the left, as above described, to disengage or declutch the shaft I? from the drive f belt It. The arm 8|? may be locked in its raised position by moving it to the left, as viewed in Fig. 2, so as to bring a lug on the housing I4 into a recess or notch 86 formed on the arm 89.

To facilitate this moving and locking of the arm 86, a coil spring 8? may be provided. This spring has one end thereof connected to the arm 8|] and the other end anchored to the head of a screw 38 fastened to the housing M. In addition to holding the arm 85in locked position, thespring 8'! also assists the downward movement of the arm 80 upon the release of the latter, as will be ap parent from an inspection of Figs. 2 and 3. r The arm 80 is guided in its vertical movement by means of a pin 89 extending outwardly from the 1'."

housing It and into a slot 99 formed in the arm 80.

It is thus apparent from the above description that the present invention provides a mechanism by which the drive shaft may be readily and ti easily disconnected or declutched from the drive belt to stop the drive shaft to permit the projection. of stills. In order to move the shutter and/or bring the desired image area into position to be projected as a. still, the threading knob may be rotated, thus manually rotating the drive shaft H to move the film strip through the film gate to bring the desired picture area into projecting position. necessitating the shutting down of the drive motor l5. When, however, the split pulley parts are moved to the position illustrated in Fig. 2, a positive driving connection is provided between the drive belt I6 and the shaft I! so that the latter 1 Thus stills may be projected without may be-continually driven to feed the film strip through the machine.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive idea may be carried out in a number of ways. This application is, therefore, not to be limited to the precise details described but is intended to cover all variations and modifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a motion picture projector the combination, with a shaft, an electric motor, a drive belt connected to said motor, of a split drive pulley mounted on and rotatable with said shaft, said pulley comprising a pair of flanged members arranged to engage said belt to operatively connect the latter to said shaft, one of said members being fixed to said shaft and the other of said members being slidable on said shaft, a pair of spring members engaging said movable member and tending to move the latter toward said stationary member to connect said members to said belt, and means for engaging one of said spring members for moving said movable member away from said stationary member to disconnect said members from said belt.

2. In a motion picture projector, the combination with a drive shaft, an electric motor, a drive belt connected to said motor, of a split drive pulley mounted on and rotatable with said shaft, said pulley comprising a pair of flanged members arranged to engage said belt to operatively connect the latter to said shaft, one of said members being fixed to said shaft and the other of said members being slidable on said shaft, a centerpiece loosely mounted on said shaft and positioned intermediate said members, a coil spring engaging said movable member and tending to move the latter toward said stationary member to conpulley comprising a pair of members formed with peripheral flanges arranged to engage said belt to connect the latter to said pulley, one of said members being rigidly secured to said shaft, a threading knob on said shaft and formed with an axially extending sleeve surrounding said shaft, the other of said members being splined on said sleeve so as to rotate therewith, but 'slidable axially relative thereto, a coil spring interposed between said sleeve and said other member and tending to move the latter toward said one member to bring said members into driving engagement with said belt, a centerpiece loosely mounted on said shaft and positioned between said members, a shift mechanism comprising a leaf-spring having one end thereof secured to said housing and the other end operatively connected to said other member, said mechanism cooperating with said coil spring to hold said members in engagement with said belt, a cam pivotally mounted on said housing and adopted to move said mechanism to separate said members to permit said belt to drop onto said centerpiece, whereby said shaft is disconnected from said belt, and a lever for moving said cam.

HOWARD C. WELLMAN. 

